Perfect Day
by XakliaAeryn
Summary: Elizabeth has planned a perfect day...including John Sheppard. Written for Day 11 of the Sparky Advent Calendar 2009.


Title: Perfect Day  
Author: XakliaAeryn  
Rating: PG-13/T (one swear word)  
Word Count: 1,939  
Genre: Romance/Fluff/Angst  
Summary: Elizabeth has planned a perfect day...including John Sheppard.  
Author's Note: This is for the Sparky Advent Calendar 2009 Day 11. I came across an image on the internet which inspired this and then I got carried away looking at pretty pictures!  
Disclaimer: I don't own the show or the characters. I'm not making any money out of this, I just like playing with the toys :-P  
Thanks: Thank you to my beta dreximgirl for all her help! And thank you to SwimChicSQ for her help with the military dress codes! :-D  
Feedback is love! :-)

"Stop fidgeting!" Evan Lorne chastised him, slapping at his hands as John once again went to adjust his uniform.

"I can't help it! I hate this uniform with a passion!" John defended before Laura Cadman popped her head over his shoulder.

"Yeah, but Elizabeth loves it with a passion," she reminded him in a sing-song voice and patted his shoulders before moving away to straighten Lorne's tie. She stepped away from him to inspect her work before turning her eye to Sheppard and swatted him for fiddling with his tie again. "Right, stand to, both of you," she told them. John and Evan looked at each other before looking back at her each with a laughable expression on their faces which made Laura giggle nervously. "Sirs?" she added with a sweet smile.

They rolled their eyes at her before standing at attention for her to inspect them. She checked them over thoroughly, picking lint off their uniform and smoothing over the material, tweaking bits here and there before she stood back and nodded at each of them and announced, "Ok, we're ready to go!" Laura went to the exit and waited for one of them to open the door, which had been locked, for her to leave. Evan came up behind her and looked between her and the door locking mechanism. She nodded her head to the object until Evan got the hint and waved his hand over the crystals for her, waving his arm and bowing at her before she passed by.

"Wait!" John called out as Laura went out of the room. Her head popped back in with an alarmed expression on her face.

"What? What is it? What have you forgotten?" She turned to Marcus and grabbed the front of his jacket. "Did you forget the rings?" she accused.

"No!" Lorne defended.

"Oh, well, good," she calmed down and smoothed down his uniform again with a slightly embarrassed look.

"What is it, John? Not getting cold feet are you?" Lorne teased with a grin.

"Yes?" John answered quietly which earned Lorne an elbow in the ribs from Cadman.

"What's wrong?" Laura asked as she slowly approached him. His agitated behavior made sense to her now, from his stalling back in his quarters over his uniforms to worrying over the rings to sending his best man, Rodney, on ahead of him to check everything out.

"I…I…" he stuttered as he ran a hand through his hair as he walked away to the window.

"John?" Laura stepped forward again. "What's wrong? I mean, you love her don't you?"

"Oh God, of course I do! It's not about that, it's…" he glanced nervously at Lorne who was still by the door and Laura got the hint.

She tuned to him and gave him a subtle head tip to the door which he understood straight away, his discomfort obvious to her as he shifted from foot to foot whilst looking anywhere but where this conversation was taking place. He shot her a relieved look and mouthed a thank you before stepping outside and letting the door shut. Laura took a deep breath and turned back to John, opening her mouth to ask again.

"What if I screw up, Cadman? What if I hurt her? What if…" his questions spilled out at her and she cut him off.

"Stop!" she marched over to the bedside table and picked up a picture of John and Elizabeth and took it over to him. She shoved it under his nose and made him look at it. He took it from her hand and she saw that sappy smile touch his face which turned her into more of a hopeless romantic. "Do you love her?"

"Yes, but…"

"Then that's all that matters," she reassured him. He looked up at her like a lost puppy.

"I'm no good for her," he admitted like a little boy.

"Bullshit! If you really thought that then you wouldn't have asked her!"

"I was half drunk when I asked her!" He huffed a breath and looked back at the picture in his hands. "By the time I got round to asking, I'd drunk most of the champagne before she'd finished a glass because I was so nervous!" He sighed again and sat on the settee in front of the window, "You know I was married before, right?"

"Yeah," she sat next to him.

"What if the same thing happens with Elizabeth? I don't want to ruin this!"

"I don't know about that John," she stood up again, which made him look at her. "But I do know what's going to happen if you don't get your ass moving, get out on that pier and marry the woman who loves you more than anything!" She pointed at the door and stamped her foot, her heel making a louder noise then it usually would. John looked up at her with an amused look and shook his head. "Now!" she ordered, cocking her eyebrow in a move reminiscent of Elizabeth, John sighed to himself- he knew he was a goner.

*~*~

"Where is he Teyla?" Elizabeth asked and Teyla could sense her friend getting more and more upset over her partner's absence. Teyla herself was fighting the urge to go and find him in order to smack him for making Elizabeth wait and worry. She glanced down the corridor where John should have walked ten minutes ago but saw no sign of him.

The guests were all seated and waiting with music playing in the background as they chatted. The four piece classical band were playing softly, simply biding time until they were told to play the Wedding March. The band were cobbled together from members of the expedition, two from the Air Force who were in their Mess Dress and two scientists who were in their smart, sparkly dresses. "Why isn't he here?" Teyla looked back at her friend, a stunning vision in a white dress, with embroidery down the main body of the dress and sheer sleeves and top, allowing for her shoulders and a decent amount of cleavage to be seen through the sheer material. The embroidery continued down her sleeves and around her neck. Instead of the veil Teyla had been told it was traditional for Earth women to wear at these ceremonies, Elizabeth had opted for an aspect of the Athosian marriage attire. The white, fur-lined and hooded cloak dropped to a foot above the ground, was shaped by the dress beneath and tied together around her shoulders by silky white ribbons. She'd dropped her hood as she became increasingly frustrated and Teyla had to keep reminding her not to touch her hair or face.

"I'm sure he'll be here, Elizabeth. I'm sure he was just delayed, you know what Cadman's like," Teyla reassured her, faking a confident smile. Elizabeth sighed and turned away, dabbing at her eyes and hoping Teyla wouldn't notice. She had spent so much time planning this wedding, made all the more difficult by the fact that it was happening two galaxies away from the nearest bridal store. Elizabeth truly believed that this would be the one and only time she was going to get married, she had been confident in her love for John Sheppard and his love for her, but if he didn't turn up, what would that mean for her? She could feel the tears welling in her eyes and looked skywards, giving thought to a small prayer that he still loved her enough to marry her. She took a deep breath and tried to mentally pull herself together, she had to stay strong if she had to go out and face everyone to tell them the wedding was off.

"John!" Elizabeth turned at the sound of Laura Cadman's voice reaching her from down the corridor. She saw the lieutenant and Major Lorne chasing down the corridor after her fiancée. Elizabeth gave him a watery smile as he came to a stop on the other side to the door arch and gawped at her. "Sheppard, you idiot!" Cadman came up next to him and slapped him on the arm. "You're not supposed to see the bride before the wedding!"

"Cadman, this _is_ the wedding," John pointed out then turned his attention to his bride. "That is, if you still want it to be?" She grinned and nodded, breathing a sigh of relief now that he was here. "Great!" he moved to kiss her only to be pushed out the door by Cadman.

"Ah ah! That, I _know_, is reserved for the _end_ of the wedding, lover boy. Now get your ass down that aisle!" John looked over Laura's shoulder as she ushered him down the middle of the guests to see Elizabeth laughing into her hand at the two of them. Teyla followed them to the head of the aisle as she was initiating the ceremony for them.

Elizabeth looked up at Evan Lorne who was still stood opposite her, watching her with a small smile, she blushed a little at his attention before he stepped forward and touched her arm, "Congratulations, ma'am." He kissed her cheek and decided to tease her a little, "Good luck."

"Why would I need luck?" she asked as he started moving away.

He looked back with a grin, "You're marrying John Sheppard." He winked at her then moved away to join the rest of the wedding party. She grinned, she knew John Sheppard was trouble, and she somehow loved him more for it. She knew he would always come back to her. She watched as her friends took their places at the altar end of the aisle. Lorne tapped McKay on the head for something then handed over what looked like the velvet ring box. She smiled and shook her head in amusement at the two. Teyla looked almost regal in her formal Athosian robes which hugged her slightly pregnant figure and John looked breathtaking in his Dress Blues with his medals pinned proudly to his chest.

She took a deep breath and nodded at Teyla to tell the band to start playing her wedding march. She raised her hood and stood in the centre of the archway as the music began to play, her bouquet of Athosian fauna and red roses in her hands. The guests all stood and turned to face her as she began her slow walk down the aisle with the biggest grin she imagined she'd ever had on her face in her life. The sun was low in the sky, creating a canvas of oranges, pinks, purples and blues, and the dark clouds above her heralded the possibility of snow. She focused on John as he watched her make her way towards him and her mind kept repeating '_I can't believe this is happening to me!_'

She saw John look up and wondered what had caught his attention, fearing the worst she followed his gaze, expecting the Wraith, Asurans, anything to ruin her day. But as she looked skyward, the only thing she saw was the heavens opening and gently releasing its burden of snow upon Atlantis and their wedding.

If she was grinning before, now she must look like a loon. This had just completed her idea of her perfect winter wedding. She looked back at John and saw the snow starting to settle in his hair and on his shoulders as she carried on her journey towards him. He reached out towards her as she came to step up next to him and took her hand, kissing her nose with a small smile.

"Thank you," she whispered tearfully.

"Love you," he murmured back which made her grin again.

They both turned to Teyla as their ceremony began; Elizabeth's perfect winter wedding almost complete.

*~*~

Thanks for reading! Feedback is really appreciated! :-)

luv

K


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